Many areas of the state and the country have already seen the rise in methamphetamine riddle their communities. The Arkansas River Valley is seeing it now.

The latest lab was discovered Friday in a hotel room in Russellville only weeks after the West Main Cafe lab was raided on Main Street.

Should we be worried that Russellville will be labeled as the next city with serious meth problems?

Yes, but the problem is no worse than any other city. Meth is a nationwide epidemic.

The "Catch-22" on meth labs occur when an educated community begins to openly communicate with law enforcement. When the public knows what to look for and feels comfortable with the city and county agencies, more people will call in suspicious behavior, therefore more labs will be identified and cleaned up. This was the case at the hotel on Friday.

Recurring headlines of meth labs could put a "scarlet letter," so to speak, on a certain area. Here's the catch: with recent meth lab discoveries, some might say Russellville has a problem.

Russellville is taking meth by the horns and is catching more and more cooks in the act. A lot of communities don't know the signs and pass by labs without knowing the difference. We can't clean up meth without eliminating the labs.

Jack Thorpe, a deputy prosecuting attorney for the Fifth Judicial District, credited alert business operators for the hotel discovery. He also gave credit to the River Valley Meth Project, a large collaboration of community leaders focused on educating the public about methamphetamines.

We should be thankful that such an atmosphere of communication is expanding in our community. Recent arrests for manufacturing meth shouldn't cast shadows on Russellville; it should put us in the spotlight. Other communities need to take a proactive stance as people here have done. The River Valley Meth Project has already made an impact through education of businesses, teachers, counselors and the general public. Knowledge is power.

The Courier will publish a series of articles focused on methamphetamines called "In-depth on meth" beginning Sunday.

We will begin with an overview of the drug and move to more focused stories concerning education, risks and effects on numerous industries.